Park Su's words were hitting right at Cheng Mingxu's heart. He knew that with his current strength, he was no match for Xu Nuo. If they really wanted to kill him, it would be effortless. And as Park Su pointed out, if he died, he would lose everything.
Sure, his father could avenge him, but what would that change? The power he desired would be divided among his siblings. His father's grief over losing a child would eventually be soothed by other children, especially in this apocalypse where moral and legal constraints were far less than before.
Who knew if his father might have new children with the women who would vie for his favor? How long would the memory of him last then?
To sacrifice his entire future for this one energy stone seemed foolish. And now, Park Su was only asking for 30% of the energy. The remaining 70% could be used by his trusted followers. There was indeed a wood-type ability user in his team who had always followed him, though he was still on probation and not fully trusted.
But now, this person seemed the best candidate to receive the stone. However, once given such a valuable item, this person could not be swayed by others. Perhaps he should emphasize the benefits of this 70% energy and the rarity of finding another stone, and maybe even stage some hardship to ensure this follower's undying loyalty.
Seeing Cheng Mingxu silent after his persuasion, Park Su thought he was contemplating and might not agree, so he stepped back, "If you won't agree to this, then I can only stand by my lover. Your life or death won't be my concern anymore."
Cheng Mingxu, who was still pondering, quickly spoke up upon hearing this, "Alright, I agree to this condition. So, what's the second request you want to make?
I should warn you, even though I'm only giving you 30% of the energy from this stone, it's still quite a deal, considering what my team went through to get it. Don't think about taking advantage of the situation."
Xu Nuo, in fact, wasn't very interested in Cheng Mingxu's other possessions, but his interest in the energy stone was mainly because it was a wood-type one, perfect for Park Su.
Secondly, he was curious to see if, like the attribute-less energy stone, this attribute-specific one could also replenish itself with energy. If they shared the same attribute, he would be more confident in helping Park Su break through to the fourth tier, or even higher, in a short time.
Perhaps he could use this stone to advance Park Su's cultivation further. As for other things, he didn't care much.
If there was anything else he must ensure, it was the safety of the other low-tier ability users. After all, in their past life, they had all helped Park Su to some extent.
So he continued, "Secondly, I want everyone in my team besides me, Park Su, Ge Qing, Lu Shang, Lü Xia, and Shi Lei to be grouped with your injured members. No matter what happens, everyone in your team who isn't injured, including you, must work with us to protect these injured and my low-tier ability users."
Cheng Mingxu didn't expect this condition. For him, while many of the injured were his confidants, except for Lin Fei and Lin Xiang, the others were disposable. These brothers were completely trusted by him, had done much for him, and represented significant forces that could be beneficial to him.
The rest were either still on probation or too weak for him to care about. If he could preserve his own life, he'd be willing to help them since no one likes to lose their forces. But if his life were threatened, he'd abandon them without hesitation.
He hadn't anticipated that Park Su and Xu Nuo wanted to protect these low-tier ability users. Were they thinking the same as him, planning to flee with their trusted followers if the situation became dire?
When one's heart is filled with malice, they tend to judge others by the same measure. However, no matter the intention, agreeing to this condition didn't seem to matter much to him.
He valued the high-tier abilities of Park Su, Xu Nuo, and their group. As for those first-tier ability users, if they encountered a situation his team couldn't handle, adding a few more would just mean more food for the zombies.
So, after only a brief hesitation, he quickly agreed to this condition and asked, "Is there anything else?"
Xu Nuo nodded, "Third, I'll only protect until the morning after tomorrow. That means by the morning after tomorrow, you must deliver the compensation we're asking for, along with the half of the resources you lost in the bet.
Once we get what we're owed, we'll leave immediately. Of course, if you don't comply, we won't hesitate to use force to take what's rightfully ours, and you won't have any excuse to keep us here."
Regarding the third point, Cheng Mingxu was somewhat dissatisfied. After paying such a high price, the protection offered was only for this short period? Moreover, how could they be so sure his team had lost the bet before even comparing?
Thinking this, he naturally voiced his question, and Xu Nuo didn't hesitate to reply, "It's simple. If you count this energy stone as part of your collected resources, ours might not match up. But you're not willing to reveal this stone to everyone, and regarding the rest of your resources, I can guarantee they don't come close to what we've gathered.
After all, obtaining that energy stone must have taken a lot of effort and manpower, otherwise, you wouldn't be in such a sorry state.
So we're definitely going to win this bet. As for why we're leaving the day after tomorrow, firstly, we've already been delayed too long by you, severely impacting our schedule.
Secondly, ability users recover faster than ordinary people; unless it's a life-threatening injury, they generally recover about 70-80% in two days. By then, your team will have regained some strength, and there would be no need for us to continue protecting you.
More importantly, you don't really think that with just this little compensation, you could hire us as bodyguards for life, do you? Two days is the maximum; don't expect more.
To be honest, I only agreed because of my spouse. Otherwise, I would have demanded the entire energy stone, not just 30%."
Cheng Mingxu felt that whenever he questioned Xu Nuo, he was met with a response that left him speechless. However, he guessed that Xu Nuo and Park Su were also concerned about exhausting themselves over these two days, and once his team recovered, they might turn against them, which was why they suggested this.
Thinking from their perspective, he probably would have done the same. So, he had no choice but to agree, and he quickly asked, "It's three o'clock now; you don't have anything else, do you?"
Xu Nuo raised an eyebrow, "I didn't, but since you asked, I just remembered there is a fourth point. Since you're asking for our protection, you naturally need to trust us completely.
However, just because you trust us doesn't mean we trust you. So how about this, I'll handle threats from two directions, and your team will guard the other two. We won't interfere with each other or watch how the other executes their plan.
Of course, if something happens on your side that you can't handle, just shout for help, and we'll come to assist. This is to protect the secrets on both sides, don't you agree?"
Although Xu Nuo framed it as a question, Cheng Mingxu could clearly sense the thick threat in his tone. He knew Xu Nuo didn't trust him, and with someone like Xu Nuo having such abilities and knowledge about energy stones, he must have many secrets. As someone Xu Nuo didn't trust, he wouldn't want his secrets exposed either, so this request wasn't unreasonable. Thus, he nodded in agreement.
But he also muttered to himself, "I can't completely trust you either, so don't be so arrogant." This time, he didn't ask if there were any more demands.
Fortunately, after stating this condition, Xu Nuo indeed had no more demands and just said to Park Su, "Since you've agreed, you should deal with the energy stone quickly. I don't want to find out at the end that my reward has vanished. My anger isn't something Park Su can calm with just a few words."
With that, he didn't bother with Cheng Mingxu anymore and took his spouse back to their room to rest. As they reached the door, he added, "It's too late tonight; I need to rest well. We'll take over at 8 AM tomorrow. I think with the remaining strength of your team, dealing with the occasional zombies attracted by the blood smell should be manageable for one night."
Rest assured, we would never take advantage of someone in the early hours of tomorrow morning. With these words, the door was slammed shut, leaving Cheng Mingxu outside.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Mingxu felt an urge to spit blood from frustration, though he found the situation quite peculiar. Was he truly to be left unattended?
Zombies are not creatures that discriminate in their attacks. If their group stayed overnight, how could they avoid being attacked when the zombies arrived?
Was he so confident as to entrust the entire night's vigilance to them?
In reality, Xu Nuo and Park Su felt relatively reassured because the talismans they had distributed were now at a third-grade level.
This meant that unless they were third-tier zombies or above, their aura would remain undetected. Thus, as long as they did not foolishly intervene, their safety was somewhat assured.
Park Su had initially been worried about Xu Nuo casually spreading knowledge of the talismans, questioning its propriety. However, Xu Nuo appeared unconcerned, explaining that in this post-apocalyptic world, they needed survival tools.
These talismans would serve as essential skills for survival. Moreover, Xu Nuo was currently only willing to reveal knowledge of four types of talismans: isolation, purification, thunder summoning, and array formation.
The array formation talismans were beyond the layman, but the other three could be activated by even novices if Xu Nuo set up the mechanisms correctly, requiring only a slight infusion of power from any esper.
Some talismans could even be used by ordinary people, ensuring their safety alongside that of the espers, while also providing Xu Nuo with additional resources or crystal nuclei.
This would lay a financial foundation for the team he envisioned, though he chose not to elaborate to Park Su to avoid unnecessary speculation.
Fortunately, his wife was always obedient and trusted him implicitly, asking no questions, thus concealing the matter from Park Su.
That night, as predicted by Park Su and Xu Nuo, the sounds of Tang's roars, close combat, and clashing weapons were heard intermittently.